The owner of an iconic Central Market restaurant says trade has plummeted after market management forced her to halve the number of dining tables, to conform with a painted yellow line.

Mandy Chan says her Malaysian restaurant, Malacca Corner, has been operating with six outdoor dining tables (two rows of three) in front of the store for more than 30 years.

But she says a market management representative confronted her last month, after the yellow line was repainted on the bitumen, telling her all tables must be behind the line.

She was forced to reduce her outdoor dining tables from six to three.

She says customer numbers have since dropped by around a quarter.

“This has not changed for 30 years, and this year, suddenly it changed,” she said.

“Since we moved in the tables, a lot of customers (have) walked past … they don’t walk in here, and they think we are not open, because suddenly all the chairs have moved away.

“Customers … like to sit outside and enjoy, and see the people walking.

“They don’t like to sit inside.

“They’re not very happy. I’m not happy because I’m losing business.”

Malacca is located on the western side of the Market, in one of the institution’s widest bitumen aisles.

A white line immediately beside the restaurant contains two rows of outdoor dining tables for general use for customers of any Central Market shop or stall.

“A market should … have a lot of things put outside so it looks more like a market, but now it looks empty,” said Chan.

“It doesn’t look like a market.”

Traders in one of the central aisles keeping – mostly – within the yellow line.

Adelaide Central Market Authority interim CEO Gavin Webster told InDaily: “The yellow lines painted around all tenancies in the Central Market are the boundaries that are allowed to be traded to by stalls and shops.”

Despite the restaurant’s history, Webster said the yellow line boundary was enforced “consistently” and that “the recent re-paint of the lines has not changed the boundary outside the tenancy in question or other tenancies within the Central Market”.

“Exceptions may be given for one-off events outside of the yellow line where appropriate for retail events to support customer demand, but that is at the discretion of the Central Market.”

Another market trader had tables placed outside of any line on the bitumen, but an employee told InDaily the tables only had to be removed on Saturdays, so that the bitumen could be cleaned.

Other traders declined to comment.